The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Chapter 23: The Heart of Jade Maiden Peak

Upon learning that the lost sword technique of Mount Hua was hidden on the Cliff of Contemplation, as well as the location of the entrance to the stone cave, Yue Buqun could not wait any longer. He used all his martial arts skills to head towards the summit of Jade Maiden Peak at an extremely fast speed, leaving Yue Lingshan and Jiang Ning far behind.

"Chong'er, Ning'er, how did you discover that there was another stone cave inside the Cliff of Contemplation?"

On the way, Ning Zhongze asked.

"Yes, senior brother, how did you know?"

Yue Lingshan also spoke up.

Linghu Chong immediately became smug: "Master's wife, junior sister, you don't know this, but there is a place on the cliff of Contemplation that makes a crisp sound when you tap it, while other places make a dull sound. I knew something was wrong, so I smashed the cliff with a stone and found the cave."

Yue Lingshan blinked.

"You've been to the Cliff of Contemplation so many times before, how come you didn't notice it before?"

Linghu Chong's smug expression froze, and he said awkwardly, "Because Junior Brother discovered that place first."

Yue Lingshan immediately mocked, "I knew it! Senior Brother went to the Cliff of Contemplation so many times and didn't find out, but you found out when you went with Junior Brother. If it weren't for Junior Brother, Senior Brother, you probably wouldn't have found out even if you went to the Cliff of Contemplation a hundred times."

Linghu Chong looked embarrassed.

Ning Zhongze then looked at Jiang Ning, who was remaining silent, and asked, "Ning'er, how did you find out?"

Jiang Ning replied, "I saw that the stone wall in the center had characters carved by the Sword Sect senior Feng Qingyang with his weapon. Out of curiosity, I tried the stone wall and found that something was wrong. Then my senior brother smashed the stone wall and that's how we found out."

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong's eyebrows danced with excitement once again.

When Jiang Ning returned to the Cliff of Contemplation, the boulder he had used to block the cave entrance had been scattered to the side, revealing the deep entrance.

"Let's go in."

Ning Zhongze said, and then went in first.

"Master's wife, junior sister, it's very dark inside, please be careful."

Linghu Chong shouted from behind.

The group walked through the narrow passage, with Ning Zhongze leading the way, followed by Yue Lingshan, then Linghu Chong, and finally Jiang Ning.

Before even leaving the passage and entering the mountain's interior, Jiang Ning heard loud laughter coming from inside.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha!"

"Heaven will not forsake Yue Buqun, Heaven will not forsake the Huashan Sect!"

"With these sword techniques, my Huashan Sect can finally rise again! Hahahaha!!!"

Unlike the darkness we experienced when we first entered, torches hung on the stone walls, illuminating the cave.

Yue Buqun stood in front of one of the stone walls, his arms outstretched above his head, laughing heartily.

"Master, what's wrong? With these lost sword techniques of our Huashan Sect, our rise is certain, but even without these sword techniques, how could our Huashan Sect, as one of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects, perish?"

Linghu Chong was puzzled.

Jiang Ning glanced at him but didn't say anything.

He naturally didn't know.

Before this, he had always lived in the comfort zone that Yue Buqun had given him, with Yue Buqun bearing all the responsibilities. How could he have known?

Jiang Ning had never seen Yue Buqun like this before.

In Jiang Ning's memory, Yue Buqun was always a gentleman, speaking with elegance and propriety, and his interactions with others were like a gentle breeze. He never lost control of his emotions, let alone laughed so wildly as he was now.

Yue Buqun released all his pent-up emotions at this moment.

Even after Jiang Ning and Ning Zhongze entered, Yue Buqun did not restrain his emotions.

Among these people, one is his wife, one is his biological daughter, and the other two are his outstanding disciples, with whom he has a father-son relationship. Linghu Chong, in particular, needs no introduction. If nothing unexpected happens, his daughter Yue Lingshan will marry Linghu Chong in the future, at which point Linghu Chong will be both his son-in-law and his son.

In front of these family members, or those who were as close as family, Yue Buqun did not hide his excitement.

"Let's not go over there yet, let your master vent for a while."

Ning Zhongze stopped Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan from going over, while Jiang Ning had no intention of going over in the first place.

Seeing Yue Buqun's loss of composure, Ning Zhongze felt an indescribable pang of discomfort.

After venting his emotions, Yue Buqun calmed down. He turned to look at Jiang Ning and the others and called out.

"Come here, all of you."

Jiang Ning walked over.

Yue Buqun looked at Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong with a gratified expression on his face.

"Ning'er, Chong'er, you have done a great service this time. The sword techniques carved on this stone wall are all lost sword techniques of our Huashan Sect. These sword techniques are all extremely exquisite. It is precisely because of the loss of these sword techniques that our Huashan Sect has declined. Now that our Huashan Sect has regained these sword techniques, the revitalization of Huashan Sect is just around the corner!"

Linghu Chong, who rarely received such praise from Yue Buqun, couldn't help but scratch his head and grin foolishly.

To him, Yue Buqun was like a strict father who had very high expectations of him. No matter how hard he tried before, it was difficult to get praise from Yue Buqun. Besides his own lazy personality, the inability to get praise from Yue Buqun was also one of the reasons why he started to slack off.

Jiang Ning, however, remained calm.

After chuckling for a while, Linghu Chong seemed to remember something and said to Yue Buqun, "By the way, Master, besides the sword techniques of my Five Mountains Sword Sect, there are some patterns on this stone wall. Those are left by these withered bones on the ground, especially that one named Zhang Chengfeng, who even said he could break my Huashan sword techniques."

"Hmph! My Huashan swordsmanship is profound and extensive, how could it be broken by some unknown junior?"

As Linghu Chong spoke, an indignant expression returned to his face. If Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze hadn't been there, he would have wanted to kick that skeleton again.

"Ok?"

Upon hearing Linghu Chong's words, Yue Buqun finally noticed the small figures and the words carved on the stone wall that insulted the Five Mountains Sword Sect.

Previously, his attention was entirely focused on the Huashan sword technique, and he neglected these things.

However, after reading it, he didn't analyze it carefully. He just glanced at it and then put it away, and his reaction was similar to Linghu Chong's.

Yue Buqun chuckled and said, "These thieves must be enemies of my Five Mountains Sword Sect. They were imprisoned here and couldn't escape, so they're just spewing slander and insults at my Five Mountains Sword Sect. We don't need to pay them any mind."

"I knew it!"

Linghu Chong nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Jiang Ning listened from the side and his eyes flickered, but he still didn't say anything to break Yue Buqun's interest.

Anyway, all these sword techniques and ways to counter them are engraved here, and when Yue Buqun looks at them later, he will find that these moves are real.

"Ning'er".

Yue Buqun looked at Jiang Ning.

"You and Chong'er have recovered the lost Huashan sword techniques for our sect, which is a great achievement. I intend to pass on all the Huashan sword techniques on this stone wall to you. You can postpone your training for a while. It's not too late to go for training after you have learned the sword techniques."

Chapter 24: Night Talk

If you want to learn swordsmanship, you can't just have the moves given to you and start practicing.

They also need the guidance of renowned teachers.

Some of the sword techniques on these stone walls were ones that even Yue Buqun had never learned, and those he had already learned were not as exquisite as those on the stone walls. Even Yue Buqun himself had to practice them all over again, let alone Jiang Ning.

Yue Buqun is stronger than Jiang Ning, has a higher realm than Jiang Ning, and is also quite talented. He has also been cultivating for a longer time than Jiang Ning, so he will definitely master it faster than Jiang Ning. It's not too late to teach Jiang Ning the sword techniques after he has learned them.

Yue Buqun had no intention of keeping anything from Jiang Ning or preventing him from learning.

Jiang Ning discovered this cave, and these sword techniques are the foundation of the Huashan Sect. If it weren't for Jiang Ning, Yue Buqun might never have seen these lost Huashan sword techniques, and the Huashan Sect would never have had the chance to obtain them again. Just like those divine martial arts manuals of the past, they disappeared from the world's sight and quietly lay somewhere.

Therefore, Yue Buqun would not be stingy with Jiang Ning.

As for preventing Jiang Ning from learning the sword techniques on the stone wall, that's even more impossible. Jiang Ning entered the cave before him and had already seen these exquisite sword techniques. Even if Yue Buqun forbids Jiang Ning from practicing them, Jiang Ning might still secretly practice them. Putting aside whether Jiang Ning will have any problems practicing on his own, Yue Buqun would become Jiang Ning's enemy first.

Instead of doing that, it would be better to be open and honest, with master and disciples working together to strengthen the Huashan Sect.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment and shook his head: "Master, I still want to go down the mountain to gain experience first, and it won't be too late to practice swordsmanship after I break through the bottleneck."

"Our Huashan Sect values ​​internal energy more than swordsmanship. Although these sword techniques are very exquisite, they can only serve as an aid to my cultivation."

Mastering so many sword techniques is not something that can be done overnight; it will definitely take some time. In order to save time, Jiang Ning plans to practice on the road.

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun smiled and nodded in satisfaction: "I am very pleased that you have such an idea."

Despite the temptations of many exquisite sword techniques, he was able to maintain his original intention and remain steadfast in his beliefs.

Very good, very good.

Yue Buqun was becoming increasingly satisfied with Jiang Ning.

"Since that's the case, then I support your decision. You will be going down the mountain to train on your own tomorrow. Come to the back hall tonight; I have something to say to you."

The back room?

That is the place where we worship the ancestors of Huashan throughout history.

Jiang Ning was somewhat surprised, but still nodded.

"Yes."

Yue Buqun nodded and said to Ning Zhongze and the others, "Let's go back."

"Yes."

Jiang Ning nodded.

After leaving the cave, Yue Buqun personally found a huge rock from Jade Maiden Peak to block the entrance, a rock even larger than the previous one.

After doing all this, Yue Buqun gave Yue Lingshan and Linghu Chong another warning: "This cave is an absolute secret of my Huashan Sect. You two must keep it a secret. No one is allowed to tell anyone, including Denuo and Dayou. If I find out that you have revealed this matter, I will not let you off lightly!"

Yue Buqun's words were very harsh, and Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan quickly promised that they would never say anything, which put Yue Buqun at ease.

At this moment, Linghu Chong asked curiously, "Master, besides the lost sword techniques of our Huashan Sect, there are also lost sword techniques of the other Five Mountains Sword Sects in that cave. Shouldn't we tell them?"

Yue Buqun pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Let's not tell them for now. I have my own plans."

Yue Buqun made up his mind that he would keep the secret in the cave sealed forever until the Huashan Sect grew strong enough to rival the Songshan Sect.

The Songshan Sect is currently the strongest among the Five Mountains Sword Sects, and its leader, Zuo Lengchan, has great ambitions and wants to annex the other four sects. If Yue Buqun were to reveal the secret of the cave to them now, Zuo Lengchan would not refrain from annexing the Huashan Sect out of gratitude, but would instead accelerate the other party's actions to annex the Five Mountains Sword Sects.

Yue Buqun will tell the other four sects about this, but only if the Huashan Sect has grown strong enough to compete with the Songshan Sect, or if his own martial arts skills surpass Zuo Lengchan's. Before that, Yue Buqun will not do anything to aid the enemy.

"Oh."